Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) experienced a decline after the membership warehouse retailer revised its sales guidance. For the fiscal year ending February 3, 2024, BJ’s Wholesale now forecasts a year-over-year increase in comparable-club sales, excluding gasoline sales, of 1% to 1.8%. This represents a reduction from their previous estimate of around 2%. However, the company maintained its adjusted earnings guidance of $3.80 to $3.92 per share.
In the fourth quarter, BJ's Wholesale Club expects comparable-club sales to range from a 2% decline to a 1% increase compared to the previous year. Chief Financial Officer Laura Felice expressed her confidence in sustaining momentum in traffic and market share gains, thanks to their unwavering focus on delivering value. She also acknowledged the necessity to adapt to changes in consumer behavior influenced by the overall macroeconomic environment.
In the third quarter, BJ’s Wholesale Club reported adjusted earnings of 98 cents per share, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of 95 cents. However, this figure fell slightly below last year's earnings of 99 cents per share. Meanwhile, the company generated third-quarter total revenue of $4.92 billion, exceeding expectations of $4.9 billion. Nonetheless, comparable-club sales declined by 0.1% from the previous year when gasoline sales were excluded.
Following this news, BJ’s Wholesale Club stock dropped by 5.5% to $63.88 in premarket trading on Friday. In contrast, competitor Costco Wholesale (COST) experienced a slight increase of 0.3%, recovering from a 3% decline on Thursday after Walmart (WMT) released their earnings report. In September, Costco reported better-than-anticipated earnings and sales for their fiscal fourth quarter.
